My Hero
by secretfanficlover
Summary: Percy hears a shout in the forest and decides to help.


**This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

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Word Count: 1092

Title: My Hero

Note: Slight canon divergence

Warnings: torture, allusions to possible rape, abuse

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Hogwarts

Yearly:

Prompt 71 [Character] Percy Weasley

Word 2 [Word] Provoke

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The air was fresh and Percy could see the morning frost on the grass. He was taking a walk before school started. He always enjoyed going outside to think and get some fresh air.

He knew that students weren't allowed in the Forbidden Forest, but there was a small pathway that he often followed, and he had never ran into any trouble before, as long as he stayed on the pathway. The morning was quiet all around until he heard a scream from somewhere in the forest.

It sounded like a female student, and he took his role as Prefect very seriously. He saw Cho Chang running, and she collided with him, knocking them both to the ground.

"It's okay, I'll protect you, I promise," Percy said. Cho shook her head furiously, trying to scramble to her feet and get away. Before she could get up, Percy managed to get up and hold out a hand for her to take. She spotted someone in the distance and let out another scream.

"No, he's coming, no…" she muttered. He saw the man approaching, and Cho covered behind him. Percy didn't recognize the man at first, until he heard the voice. He sounded so much like his father- it was Barty Crouch Jnr.

"Close your eyes and pretend it's all a bad dream," he said, his tongue flicking in and out of his mouth like a lizard. Only now did Percy notice the tears in her robes, her matted black hair and the cuts on her arms and legs.

"We've got a real problem here," Barty said, seeing the Prefect in front of Cho.

"What do you mean, 'we'?" Percy asked. He knew he should be terrified, but here he stood, fearless when facing a known Death Eater. Barty just grinned madly at him, seeing a flower and bending over to pick it up.

"Do you know the difference between love and lust?" Barty asked curiously.

Percy had heard this before. "They say that when you lust after something, you claim it as yours, whereas if you love something, you treasure it, and let it grow," he said.

"She is mine, and you can't have her," Barty spat at him, lunging towards Percy suddenly.

"She doesn't belong to you, Barty, she doesn't belong to anyone," Percy said. It was clear that the Death Eater wasn't thinking clearly, but Percy needed to know where he had come from, and how he had gotten into the castle grounds in the first place. Students wouldn't be safe if Hogwarts wasn't secure.

"I disagree, she is my little pet," he repeated, his tongue flickering furiously, and he liked his lips in anticipation.

"How did you get into the school?" Percy asked.

"Oh that was easy," he retorted.

"When your not corrupting the innocent?" Percy couldn't help but shoot back.

"Alastor Moody," he said. Cho seemed to find her voice.

"Percy, run, he isn't after you," she said. "I'll scratch his eye out."

Barty seemed to find this hysterical, and burst into laughter. He was squeezing the flower he picked between his fingers, crushing the petals one by one. It seemed like he wanted to provoke Percy, bait him into cursing him. Percy wasn't about to cross the lines, no matter what this scumbag had done. Although the state of Cho's distress alluded to something so evil Percy didn't want to think about it.

"Insert bodybind here!" Percy cried. When Barty fell to the ground, Percy watched the crushed flower fall from his hand. He had a flash with him as well. Cho sat sobbing once it was all over, and Percy walked over to the body. They levitated him back to the castle, telling Professor Dumbledore that he claimed Alastor Moody had let him into the castle.

When Alastor Moody couldn't be found, Dumbledore examined the flask more carefully, realizing that not only was the flask was the one Alastor Moody drank from, as he refused to drink anything that could potentially be poised, but it also contained the smell of Polyjuice potion.

"This is Alastor's flask," Dumbledore said to Percy. Cho Chang had been sent to the hospital wing, and they were making sure she was taken care of. "Barty had Polyjuice potion on him."

"But, headmaster, what does that mean?" Percy asked.

"It means, my boy, that Barty Jnr was using Polyjuice potion, and probably has the real Alastor trapped somewhere in the castle," Dumbledore said. "That must be how he managed to get into the castle, and nobody would suspect that Alistar Moody wouldn't drink only from his flask."

"Will Cho be alright, headmaster?" Percy asked.

"You're a good friend for helping her, she should be okay, but you can go check on her if you like," Dumbledore replied.

It was clear that Percy had acted mature in the face of such danger, but it was alluding to a bigger threat that Death Eaters had managed to get into the castle without detection. Dumbledore was worried about dropping the ball, he couldn't afford the risk to his students, what happened to Cho Chang couldn't happen again.

Dumbledore had Barty Crouch subdued, and tied to a chair, and as soon as he regained consciousness Dumbledore proceeded to interrogate him.

"Tell me something," Dumbledore said, before slipping the Veritaserum into his mouth. Barty tried to spit but his mouth and nose was pinched closed until he had to inhale.

"The only thing that scares me more than space aliens is the idea that there aren't any space aliens. We can't be the best that creation has to offer," Barty said.

"I must agree," Dumbledore replied. "But I need to know who sent you."

Before Barty could reply he started to foam at the mouth, and started to shake uncontrollably.

"No, no, no…" Dumbledore muttered disappointedly. He needed to know if it was really Voldemort behind the attack on the school, as he suspected it was all along.

Percy reached the room Cho was lying in the bed of the hospital wing, it looked like she was sleeping. He walked up to her bedside slowly. Her eyes opened a little and a small smile graced her lips. "My hero," she said in a soft voice before falling back asleep. Percy smiled with a blush across his cheeks, sitting by the side of her bed until she woke up again.

"Only a bad dream," he spoke softly. He knew the words didn't hold any comfort, but he was here by her side for as long as she needed him.


End file.
